Bridgnorth Carnival hailed as one of the best ever
Bridgnorth's carnival has been hailed as a great example of what can be achieved when everyone works together.
Thousands of people flocked to Bridgnorth for what has been labelled "one of the busiest" carnivals yet.
The sun shone on the town on Saturday and residents, councillors, council staff and businesses came together to help with the event.
Town clerk Anne Wilson said: "More people than ever came down to the carnival, it was really good to see the community of Bridgnorth enjoying themselves. It was a really good community event.
"There was so much for people to do on Severn Park and they could watch the events in the main arena.
"The events and music carried on into the evening until about 9pm.
"It was a lovely sunny day, I would say there was about 3,000 or 4,000 people enjoying themselves there.
"A big thank you should go to the community for helping make it such a good event and all the sponsors and volunteers.
"Councillors and council staff helped, it was good for everyone to come together, that's the good thing about the carnival.
"Also the number of floats and walking entries was up this year compared to previous years."
The carnival procession, which wound its way through the town, saw more groups take part than last year. When the procession reached its destination of Severn Park, there were a host of stalls, displays and attractions for the thousands of visitors to enjoy.
Councillor Sarah Stevens, a member of the Events Committee, said: “I think the big step forward this year was combining the expertise and experience of the town council with financial backing and new ideas from local retailers and residents.
“The Carnival Royalty were pampered on their special day with flowers, make-up and nails supplied by local businesses. They were then delivered to Severn Park on a period lorry supplied by a local building materials suppliers.
“By working together with Ashley Kendrick, the mayor's secretary and PA to the town clerk, we were able to secure enough sponsorship to pay for an arena event, the Extreme Mountain Bike Show, which went down really well with the audience.”
Councillor Kirstie Hurst-Knight, who runs Boutique No.7, was one of the local High Street retailers who took a stall at Severn Park on Carnival day.
She said: “It was a brilliant day. I decided to close my shop so I could open a pop-up shop at Severn Park, which was offered to the town’s retailers at a discount rate. It was too good an opportunity to miss and I really felt part of the day; there was a great community spirit on display and I will definitely be doing the same thing next year.”
Another new addition in Severn Park, was Severn Fundraisers' huge inflatable Mister Stay Puft, from the Ghostbusters film.
The new charity fundraising group collected money for local charities, with Councillors Richard Fox, James Gittins and former Mayor Vanessa Voysey dressed as Ghostbusters for the day.
